


The One With the Ransom

by shepardly



Series: Murphy's Law [7]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Implications of torture, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-03 01:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10957053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shepardly/pseuds/shepardly
Summary: While out on a small mission, McCree and Hanzo run into trouble with the remains of the Deadlock gang and require help from an unexpected source.





	The One With the Ransom

**Author's Note:**

> I have been picking and poking at this piece for months, even having given up on it for a while, but after spending so much time on it I give up. *throws fic into the void and tells myself it's probably only predictable and blah to myself after reading it A MILLION TIMES*

***

Jesse McCree rolled down the window and turned up the radio, cybernetic fingers tapping the steering wheel in time with the music. Sun shining, empty highway across the desert, warm wind ruffling his hair, good tunes- Jesse figured the only thing that would make this moment any better would be to have a certain someone sitting in the seat next to him.

His communicator started ringing and he checked the display. Speak of the devil.

“Howdy, darlin’!” Jesse didn't try to keep his good mood out of his greeting. “What's your location?”

“Waiting at the motel.” Hanzo put an emphasis on the ‘waiting’. “What's your ETA?”

“I am-” Jesse checked the dash clock- “just over an hour out. How'd it go?”

“Uneventful. I was able to retrieve the data and wiped the hard drives.”

The highway was headed into a canyon now, the road dipping and winding with a sheer sandstone wall to his left. Jesse grinned, cornering the car expertly and enjoying the sensation. 

“Right on, honey bee, that's what I-”

A pile of rocks on the road loomed, hidden until the last second by a sharp corner and much too large for the hover car to clear. Jesse cranked the wheel, braking hard, but it was already too late. The side of the car slammed into sandstone, and the last thing Jesse remembered was the sickening lurch as the car rolled. 

***

Jesse came to slowly, ears ringing and head pounding. It took a moment, but he eventually realized he was hanging upside down from his seat belt. He fumbled for the buckle, and crashed to the ceiling that had become the floor with a groan.

“Jesse? Jesse, respond!” The car had dropped the handsfree call, but Hanzo’s voice still rang out from his communicator.

“I'm… here.” Jesse realized he was missing something, and felt around until he found the communicator and tried again. “I'm here.”

“Are you alright? What happened?”

Jesse painfully dragged himself out of the car and lay in the sand and gravel for a moment, panting, his eyes screwed shut. He was pretty sure it was blood trickling warm down the left side of his face, and his right thigh was sticky and torn feeling as well. 

“Jesse!”

“I'm here.” He managed again, prying his eyes open to survey the damage despite the shooting pain in his skull. “Boulders on the road. Smashed the car all to hell.”

“Are you injured?” Hanzo demanded, then answered his own question. “You're hurt. I'm coming.”

“No!” Jesse blurted, his brain finally catching on to what his eyes were seeing. The stones on the road were too uniform, carefully placed. “It was a trap. Someone set this up. Don't come out here.”

“I'm on my way.” 

“Hanzo-” Jesse yelped when his communicator was shot out of his hand, plastic splintering and attempting to bury itself in his cybernetic arm with little success. He went to snatch Peacekeeper from his holster but realized she had been thrown clear in the wreck, and found himself face to face with the barrel of a pistol, behind which was a terribly familiar face. 

“Well, well.” Said Jed Murray, current leader of the Deadlock gang. “What have we here?”

***

Hanzo observed the wreck and the surrounding area, looking closely for any movement. He had raced to the area as quickly as he could, but had stashed his hover bike a mile back to walk in silently in an attempt to go unnoticed. He was watching the area from a perch on the canyon wall now, but so far he had yet to see any movement.

The rubble had been half-heartedly moved to the shoulder of the road, looking like a simple landslide onto the edge. McCree’s car was just visible from his perch, boiling smoke, but it had been moved so it wasn't easily visible from the road. Not that it mattered much; Hanzo had yet to see another vehicle pass by. This stretch of highway appeared lonely.

Hanzo risked dropping lower to the canyon floor, but watched and waiting for another twenty minutes before cautiously approaching the smouldering car. Standing beside the car, he slowly turned on a heel, checking all vantage points. Nothing.

He then turned his attention to the car. It had clearly rolled at least twice before coming to rest on the roof. The exterior damage was extensive, and that had happened before the interior had been set ablaze. A crude but effective method of destroying evidence. Jesse's hat was caught in a tumbleweed nearby, slightly singed on the brim. Hanzo put it on, shoving down the worry that knifed through him. 

He didn't find anything more around the car, and he went back to the road where the accident had actually taken place. Investigating the area turned up Jesse’s destroyed communicator, broken and bloodied shards of glass, and Peacekeeper, mostly buried in the dust and sporting a new scuff on the grip. McCree would not be pleased. Hanzo tucked the pistol into his belt at his back and went to look for any evidence of vehicles and the direction they came or went.

Most vehicles produced these days hovered, providing passengers with a smooth and safe ride, but it also made them extremely difficult to track. Whoever had laid in wait for McCree, however, had arrived and left in vehicles with tires, giving him a direction in which to go. Hanzo inspected the area thoroughly before returning to his hover bike and sending an updated report to Athena and Winston.

He carefully stored Jesse’s belongings in his bike before quickly putting on his helmet and firing up the bike, zipping down the highway as quickly as he dared while watching for tracks in the ditch. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't accidentally race by the place they left the highway.

He found the tracks, and got off the bike to confirm that it was the same tread as the accident site before following them into the desert.

Hanzo soon came upon a tiny, abandoned airport. The runway was drifting with sand, the windsock flapped sadly in shreds off of its pole, and a rusted garden decoration squeaked loudly every time a puff of wind managed to get it to turn. Three off road vehicles sat scattered around a small shack with a radio tower on the roof, but it didn't take long to determine that there was no one around.

Hanzo confirmed that it was the right vehicles, and checked the insides of them thoroughly. He found blood in the backseat of one of the vehicles. He took a sample and put it in the analyzer, and Athena pinged him a few minutes later with the unsurprising results: Agent McCree’s blood. He checked the shack next, but it only contained a desk that had a destroyed computer sitting on it. If there had been any record of air transports here, they were lost now.

Hanzo stepped outside and took a calming breath. It didn't work. He felt like he was going to be sick.

Whoever had captured McCree had brought him through this airport, and had now disappeared without a trace.

***

“It was likely Deadlock.” Winston adjusted his glasses, looking at his notes. Hanzo was not surprised, having come to the conclusion himself during his investigations. He had returned to his motel, and was now in a conference video call with Winston and Morrison. “It's within their territory, and with McCree’s background… it's not an unreasonable conclusion.”

“Then we must have an idea as to where they could have taken him.” Hanzo paced the motel room, too full of nervous energy to sit down. “They have to have at least one base of operations.”

“They probably have more than one.” Soldier:76 said. “I doubt they're dumb enough to not learn from past mistakes. Although…”

“What do you mean?” Hanzo stopped his pacing with a frown.

“Reyes led Blackwatch in a raid against Deadlock years ago. The gang was pretty well wiped out, or so we thought. McCree was signed on because Reyes had a soft spot for kids, but everyone else was locked away for life and we thought that was that.” Soldier:76 explained. “But turns out we didn't get them all.”

“It's true.” Winston nodded. “Blackwatch managed to capture the leader and his second in command, but no one realized there was someone else in Deadlock waiting for their chance to take over the gang.”

“By the time I realized that they were going strong again, they were nearly as large as they had been.” Soldier:76 leaned back in his seat and folded his arms. “Reyes was supposed to wipe them out again, but he never got around to it.”

“I appreciate the information, but what's your point?” Hanzo snapped impatiently. “What mistake would they have learned from?”

“They used to operate out of Deadlock Gorge, and only Deadlock Gorge. This latest guy, Murray, hasn't put anything or anyone of any importance in there in years.” Soldier:76 pulled up pictures on a tablet and projected them for everyone to see. “There's still some rough characters in there, pulling off everything between petty theft and armed robbery, but our sources say that Deadlock is still very much active in the black market with stolen goods and weapon smuggling.”

“I could have told you that they were still largely active.” Hanzo sniffed, resuming his pacing. “The Shimada clan had occasional dealings with them. They were a small organization in comparison to us, however, and I never learned anything more than the basics of them.”

“That's smart of them, but bad news for us.” Winston sighed. “Mr Murray has clearly set up his operations in a new location, or several locations, and we have no idea where any of those could be. They may not even be located within the old Deadlock stomping grounds anymore.”

“We must have _something_.” Hanzo slammed his hands on the table that his laptop sat on in frustration. “We cannot just sit here while they…”

He couldn't finish.

“They'll be contacting us.” Soldier:76 seemed confident. “They'll want a ransom.”

“And this organization does not make deals with terrorists.” Hanzo said bitterly. “It would be better if I dealt with them directly. I have done so before and I have the means.”

He was already thinking of which offshore accounts he could access, and how much he could get. He had no idea how much this Murray would want, but he was fairly confident he could meet his demands.

“Mr Shimada, as long as you are affiliated with Overwatch we cannot allow you to make deals with them either.” Winston said sternly. “We will find another way.”

“As long as we have no information, there is no other way!” Hanzo roared, all pretence of calm burning away. “If you will not allow me to do this, I will submit my resignation as an agent from Overwatch now!”

“Oh! I… uh… well…” Winston stammered, obviously taken aback by the outburst.

“Do you really think that's what he would want, Shimada?” Soldier:76 challenged. Hanzo considered it, and suddenly deflated. Soldier continued on, more quietly. “Just give us time. We’ll keep looking. Something will come up. But if nothing comes up in seventy two hours, we'll do it your way.”

“Three days…!” Hanzo weakly protested. 

“Something will come up.” Soldier insisted. “We’ll find him, Hanzo.”

“In the meantime, we’re sending a team to your location to do some investigating.” Winston had recovered. “Even though Deadlock travelled by air, it is likely that they are still somewhere in North America and within reasonable distance to where you are.”

“I know this sounds ridiculous, but I suggest you get some rest.” Soldier said darkly. “We've got some long days ahead of us.”

***

Hanzo tried to take Morrison’s advice, but sleep was elusive. His mind would not stop churning through possibilities, and the torture of waiting was driving his anxiety to record levels. He attempted meditation, but gave up eventually with a growl and went for a run. 

Athena delivered the message around three in the morning: Deadlock demanded $40 million for the release of Jesse McCree. It wasn't as much as the government bounty on Jesse’s head, which was likely an indication of how little the gang wanted to risk retrieving the official bounty. Hanzo was confident he would be able to scrape together that amount, but once he started the process he would need to work quickly. He didn't have enough in his own accounts, but still had backdoor access to several of the yakuza’s accounts. It wouldn't go unnoticed for long once he withdrew what he needed, however. 

Sleep wasn't even a consideration for the remaining few hours of the night. Hanzo retrieved what he needed and then some from the accounts and sent everything to a new, hidden account, and destroyed his tablet as thoroughly as he had just destroyed any other chance to access yakuza accounts.

He lay on the motel bed staring at the ceiling for the rest of the night, hand clenched in the sheets where Jesse should have laid. 

When the time came the next day, he packed all of his and Jesse's belongings onto his bike and set out for the small, abandoned airport; they had decided it was as good a rendezvous as any. Before going to the airport, he stopped at a shop to buy a prepaid tablet for if and when he needed to access his new account. Even with that delay he arrived at the airport early, but it wasn't long before the Overwatch transport was landing.

Tracer was first off, tackling him with a bear hug and a whispered ‘sorry, luv’ before she was off, zipping through the small building and vehicles for another inspection. Soldier:76 was next, followed by D.Va, Mercy, and Pharah. 

“Any news?” Fareeha sounded anxious. Considering that McCree was like family to her and Ana, Hanzo wasn't surprised. He mutely shook his head, a lump growing in his throat.

“I have a contact coming to meet us.” Soldier:76 stalked by and stopped on the runway, scanning the horizon. There wasn't much to see; seemingly endless miles of sand to the east and south, and mountains still miles away made of red boulders and sandstone to the north and west.

“A contact? Who?” Hanzo demanded, this being the first he had heard of this. “When will they be here?”

“He's already here.”

The sand at their feet suddenly rippled unnaturally, beginning to flow to a central location in their midst, golden grains shedding as black created a column that took on an awful, familiar shape. Hanzo had weapon in hand within a split second, as did everyone else. Hana looked ready to go for Reaper’s throat, and while Pharah held her gun steady what was visible of her face had gone grey. Mercy looked sad, and Morrison stood motionless, stoic behind his mask. 

“Lucky guess.” Reaper accused Soldier:76.

“More like I know you and your dramatics.” Morrison fired back. Reaper’s silhouette rippled with annoyance. 

“What the hell is he doing here?!” Tracer was shrill, pistols pointed at Reaper’s head. “And why aren't we attacking him?”

“He found out that McCree had been taken through his own networks. He approached me and offered to help.”

“And you think we can trust him?!” Pharah cried. “Of all the people, you-!”

“I trust him on this, okay?” Soldier:76 growled. “McCree and Reyes go way back-”

“Don't say that name!” Reaper snarled. Morrison continued as if he hadn't spoken. 

“-and if anyone would want to pull McCree from the fire to kick his ass himself, it's him.” Soldier gestured towards the roiling black mist with his chin. “I'm not saying we're allies with Talon now. But we can trust him on this.”

No one said anything for a long moment. Hanzo finally lowered Stormbow, gently releasing the tension on the string.

“I'll concede.” He said stiffly. “For now. But I will be watching you, wraith.”

“Yeah. Whatever you say, lover boy.” Reaper scoffed. 

“Did you find out anything from your network?” Soldier:76 cut to the chase. 

“I have confirmation that it was Deadlock.” Reaper folded his arms. “Murray was personally involved. Haven't made contact or confirmed location yet, but it's only a matter of time.”

“We don't have time!” Hanzo shouted, startling even himself. He threaded his hands into his hair and let out a shaky breath, wanting to continue but having a difficult time composing himself. All he could think about was what Jesse could be going through at that moment. 

“Hanzo is right.” Pharah came to stand beside him, briefly placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “This doesn't seem like a random hit. Murray wanted McCree captured for some reason, and those reasons can't be anything good for McCree.”

“It probably didn't look good when the majority of the gang got locked up but McCree showed up on Blackwatch.” Soldier:76 agreed. “Safe to say they think he sold them out.”

“Didn't he?” Pharah was puzzled. 

“He didn't know anything that we didn't already know.” Reaper shrugged. “It confirmed a few things for our final raid on the Gorge but we never learned anything new from him. He was just a kid.”

“He was their top gun.” Soldier:76 retorted. “The reason why they got as far as they did, and had as much blood on his hands as any of them.”

“He was nothing but a tool to them, a weapon that they pointed in the right direction.” Reaper had his fists clenched by his sides now.

Even expressionless beneath their masks, anyone could see that the two men were glaring daggers at each other. The argument had the air of having been discussed to death and resurrected several times over. 

“Okay, okay, fighting about it isn't going to help anyone.” Tracer interrupted the staring contest. “We should check the accident scene again, and ask around any nearby cities or towns if anyone knows of Deadlock activity. We need to do _something_.”

Everyone agreed, some half-heartedly, and Soldier:76 split them into teams. Hanzo and D.Va were sent to investigate in the town where Hanzo and McCree had been staying, while Tracer and Mercy were sent to the town in the opposite direction. Soldier:76 and Pharah would investigate the accident scene even more thoroughly, as well as the small airport, and it was agreed to make contact if anything new were to come up, but the official rendezvous was in 24 hours. Reaper left without a word after that, taking on his wraith form and disappearing without a trace.

 

***

 

On the dawn on the third day, Hanzo sat on the hood of the car, watching the sunrise. He heard the motel door open and gently click shut, but he didn't turn to look.

“Couldn't sleep?” Hana yawned, leaning against the car and handing him one of the two cups of coffee she held. He took the offered mug and shook his head.

“Me neither.” She said glumly. They sat in silence for a few minutes, until the sun cleared the horizon and made its way above the clouds. “Don't worry, Hanzo. Today's the day. I can feel it.”

She went back inside, but Hanzo remained where he was for a little while longer, considering her words. He decided he felt it too, a tiny glimmer of hope in his chest. He took a sip of the coffee- gone lukewarm already- just as the motel room door flew open again.

“Just heard from Reaper. We're supposed to meet him at the abandoned airport ASAP.” Soldier:76 reported before ducking back inside.

“We’re coming for you, Jesse.” Hanzo whispered before sliding off the car and hurrying inside to prepare for the day.

***

They all made it to the tiny airport in record time. Hanzo leapt off his bike and all but tossed his helmet aside, hastily sweeping his long hair back into a knot while approaching an impatient Reaper. The Overwatch transport arrived and the rest of the team hurriedly spilled out. 

“What is it?” Hanzo demanded. “What have you learned?”

“I know where they're keeping him.” Reaper announced as the others hurried over.

“Well then, let’s go!” Tracer bounced on her heels. “What are we waiting for?”

“You're waiting for your instructions.” Reaper snarled, clearly out of patience. He pointed towards the mountains to the north. “They're holed up in a network of caves in those mountains. Two major entrances on opposite sides, with a one man door exit here. Murray will have at least thirty of his gang in there.”

Reaper had produced a map from somewhere and unrolled it to point out the entrances.

“Looks like that one man door is in a narrow canyon.” Soldier:76 observed.

“It is.” Reaper confirmed.

“Hanzo, we’ll put you on that door. Stay high and pick off anything that comes through.” Soldier:76 had obviously been putting together a plan even as they were going over the map. “The rest of us will split up and cover the main entrances. If Hanzo runs into any problems we can be there within two minutes. We’ll push in and look for McCree, question anyone we can get alive to get us to him faster. Reaper, will you be able to infiltrate to speed up the search?”

Reaper just nodded shortly.

“As soon as we have him we’ll bail. Putting this gang down for good would be the best outcome but I don't want anyone taking chances out here. We're a long ways from backup.” Soldier:76 looked around the group. “Understood?”

After getting confirmation, the team piled back onto the transport to get closer to their objectives before splitting. Hanzo jumped back onto his hoverbike to head to his objective, but he didn't make it far before Reaper appeared in front of him, a hand raised to stop him. Hanzo glanced towards the Overwatch transport, but they were speeding off already, oblivious. His heart rate spiked, wondering what Reaper could possible have in mind, but he warily came to a stop. Reaper placed a finger over where his mouth would be, then tapped his ear and held out his hand.

Hanzo hesitated, looking over at where the transport was disappearing. _We can trust him on this,_ Soldier had said. Hanzo took out his ear communicator and gave it to Reaper, who placed it in a small hexagonal box that suddenly sprouted wiry legs. He placed it on the hoverbike’s computer, where the wires dug in. He then grabbed Storm Bow’s case and quiver, tossing the gear to its owner.

“It's ready.” Reaper spoke into his own communicator, invisible to Hanzo. The bike suddenly fired up and raced off on its own, but it was obviously being guided by someone.

“What-” Hanzo started, hating being left in the dark.

“Sombra is taking your bike and communicator to your objective to buy us some more time. Your pesky AI friend would alert the others if she saw your signal stay here.” Reaper unhelpfully explained.

“I need to go! We have to help the others find him!”

Reaper was already shaking his head. “He isn't there. Just shut up and listen to me.”

Hanzo thought he might explode from impatience and anxiety, but motioned for Reaper to continue his explanation as he unpacked his weapon and armed himself.

“They're here. Right under our feet.” Reaper pointed at the sand at their feet. “Have been the whole time. It's just Murray and five others holding the ingrate.”

“I… I don't understand.”

“I thought we would need a team to bust him out, but once we figured out where he really was I realized that this is a stealth mission.” Reaper started pacing. “I should have waited, just gotten Sombra to contact you instead of Jack, I was just so sure-”

“What's done is done!” Hanzo snapped. “Focus on what is to be done now!”

Reaper misted at the edges, vibrating angrily at the interruption, but he gathered himself and gave a short nod.

“Sombra has hacked their security system. They have no idea we’re here.” He handed Hanzo an ear communicator, black and purple. “We’ll split up. Sombra will relay instructions. I'll draw their attention, you get McCree out of there.”

Hanzo put the communicator in his ear and rolled his shoulders, preparing himself for what was to come.

“There aren't many of them down there, but we're still outnumbered and we'll be on their turf.” Reaper was watching Hanzo carefully. “As soon as you find him, you get him and get out.”

“You're looking for something else, too.” Hanzo suddenly realized. Why else would Reaper insist on doing anything other than shoot the place up?

“Just follow Sombra’s instructions, and you'll be on a transport with your cowboy and only a bad memory of this place.” Reaper’s tone brooked no argument. Hanzo debated pushing the issue, but decided it was in his- and Jesse’s- better interest to leave it for after the mission. Reaper melted away, and Hanzo’s newly acquired communicator came to life.

“ _Hola,_ Hanzo. Ready to go to work?” A young woman’s voice with a Mexican accent spoke.

“Who are you?”

“You can call me Sombra. And you need to get moving. Head for that little shack.”

Hanzo turned on a heel to look at the decrepit building, recalling its dusty and mostly empty interior.

“There's nothing there.”

“It's a front. C’mon, trust me.” Sombra wheedled. Hanzo approached the building, bow in hand but arrows left in his quiver. He stepped into the building, looked at the faded posters on the wall and the broken computer on the desk.

“You need to punch in a password on that keyboard. I know it looks broken but trust me.” Sombra explained. “Type in- ah, I don't know if I can say it without laughing- type in DEADLOCKROX, all caps, no spaces, with an X.”

Hanzo skeptically obeyed, and the floor suddenly started rattling before splitting, revealing a stone staircase that led into darkness.

“See? Front.” Sombra sounded smug. Hanzo started the descent rather than respond. There was light at the bottom of the stairs, and he carefully placed each step so as to not make a sound. The air was dry down here, and the lighting was minimal but his eyes adjusted quickly after being subjected to the dark stairwell, which he reasoned was likely intentional. A long hallway extended to his left, and he heard a TV playing somewhere to the right.

“Take a left. There's two goons in the room to your right but they're distracted.” Sombra instructed in his ear. Hanzo carefully crept down the hall, Storm Bow and arrow readied, stopping and starting as Sombra instructed. 

“Stop, step through the door to your right.” Sombra said quickly, and Hanzo eased the door open and slipped into the small room. He let the door mostly shut but kept it open a sliver so he could make a quick exit.

A door down the hall briefly opened and he heard a hoarse scream. The door clicked shut again and footsteps went the opposite way down the hall. Hanzo only realized how tightly he was holding the door handle when the hard edge started to dig into his flesh.

“Whoa, _amigo_ , take it easy-” Sombra started. She must have a feed of his life signs.

“I'll kill them.” Hanzo vowed. 

“Look, I get it, I really do, but we have to get your friend out of there before you go on a revenge killing spree.”

Hanzo didn't respond, slipping out into the hall and quickly making his way towards the door that he had heard open.

“Hey, wait a minute-” Sombra was caught off guard, scrambling, but Hanzo ignored her. “Okay, fine, _dios mio_...”

The lights abruptly went out, and Hanzo froze. It was pitch black in the underground bunker. A moment later, the door opened again and he sensed rather than saw someone lean out.

“Sal! C’mon, someone go check that generator.” The man left the room and felt his way down the hall, following the path of the person that had left earlier, and the footsteps faded away. Hanzo crept forward and let himself into the pitch black room, closing it behind him and standing very still. All he could hear was pained gasps, like someone was trying not to cry out, and the faint sound of small metal pieces clinking against each other. Hanzo pulled out a small flashlight and flipped it on.

Jesse flinched at the sudden light, rattling the table he was strapped to. Hanzo could make out burns, bruises, and cuts marring his skin. The only clothing he had been left with were his jeans, torn and tattered on his thigh where a bloodied band of cloth bandaged a wound. Blood glistened in the light from the little flashlight. Hanzo took a step closer, mentally updating his previous vow to ‘kill them all _painfully_ ’. Jesse cringed, yanking at the straps, trying to shrink away from him despite being thoroughly tied to the table under him.

“Jesse, shh, it's me.” Hanzo whispered, pointing the flashlight at the ceiling to diffuse the light and show his face in dim light. Jesse sucked in a startled breath, let out a choked gasp.

“Han.” His voice was hoarse, and Hanzo didn't want to think of why. He quickly turned to freeing Jesse, unbuckling the leather straps from around his neck, chest, limbs; tried to ignore how his fingers kept slipping in crimson.

“I'm getting you out of here, Jesse.”

“Hanzo,” Jesse said again as if he hadn't heard him, lifting a newly freed and shaking hand to touch Hanzo as he continued freeing him.

“I'm here, Jesse.” Hanzo unbuckled the last straps over his legs. 

“Three minutes until power is back on.” Sombra murmured in Hanzo’s ear. Jesse was already trying to lever himself into a sitting position, without much success. His cybernetic arm lay limp beside him, panels stripped off and wires leading to it from a control panel. Hanzo yanked the wires out of the deadened machine, and tied off the remaining wire around Jesse’s arm. They had no time to stop and properly disconnect it now. 

“I'm dreamin’.” Jesse announced, but he sounded uncertain. Hopeful.

“No. I'm here.” Hanzo quickly ran the flashlight over Jesse’s body, trying to decide where he could touch him without hurting him. It didn't look like it would be possible. “I wanted to come sooner… I am sorry, Jesse.”

“You need to get him out of there five minutes ago!” Sombra hissed in his ear.

“He's wounded, I don't know how-”

“Grab him and run! Or else he won't have just wounds to worry about!”

Jesse was already trying to rise, so Hanzo helped him to his feet where he wobbled a bit but managed to stay upright. 

“Stay close.” Hanzo held his bow ready in one hand and guided Jesse’s hand to grab a handful of the back of Hanzo’s shirt before he put away his flashlight. Jesse dutifully clung to the fabric and followed Hanzo out into the pitch black hall. 

Hanzo felt his way down the hall, following the path he had taken to get in by memory. They approached the stairs without encountering anyone, but Hanzo could hear the men in the nearby room cursing in the dark, and a flashlight flickered through the doorway. Hanzo heard Jesse's breath quicken behind him. 

“Power back on in 3, 2, 1.” Sombra counted down and the lights came back on. Hanzo grabbed Jesse's arm and all but dragged him up the steps into the shack. Hanzo searched for a way to shut the secret hatch, but shouts from the underground bunker filtered up to them, so Hanzo grabbed Jesse again and they ran out into the blinding light of the desert. 

“They already know he's gone! Overwatch won't make it in time!” Sombra sounded tense in his ear. Boots pounded on the wooden floor of the shack, signalling that their pursuers were already above ground, and Jesse suddenly stumbled and only made it a few more steps before he hit the packed sand with a thump.

Hanzo was halfway to the first off-road vehicle but skidded to a stop and scrambled back to the fallen cowboy, crouching over him with his bow ready, trying to shield him as best as possible as Deadlock gang members poured out of the shack.

There were more than half a dozen of them. A _lot_ more. Hanzo didn't stand a chance on his own. He had to keep them talking, stall them until Overwatch swooped in to save the day.

A man stormed out of the shack, tossing aside a tranquilizer pistol and drawing a revolver. Hanzo recognized the man from his briefings: Murray.

Hanzo drew a breath to call to the man, but his eyes widened as Murray levelled the revolver at him and fired.

“ _Ryuuga wagateki wo kurau!_ ” The words burst from him as the arrow left his bow before he had even registered the sting of a cut on his neck. The bullet had grazed him, dangerously close to being the end of him.

His spirit dragons tore through the gang, indiscriminate in their rampage, then faded as they returned to him. Hanzo shuddered, suddenly feeling drained.

Jesse stirred on the ground and moaned, his voice cracked and dry. Hanzo quickly turned his attention to him, and his eyes were almost immediately drawn to a dart embedded in Jesse’s neck. Hanzo snatched it away, but it was far too late. The contents of the syringe-type dart would have instantly been delivered. Jesse tried to push himself up, but collapsed before he was even halfway there. 

Hanzo dropped Storm Bow and gathered Jesse up in his arms, lightly smacking him on the cheek to get him to open his eyes again.

“Look at me. Just look at me and stay awake.” Hanzo ordered. “Can you do that?”

Jesse weakly nodded, slowly blinking. His lips parted and his throat worked like he was trying to say something, but nothing came out.

“It's a powerful paralytic.” Hanzo’s head snapped up at the voice. To his horror, it was Murray approaching them, sardonic grin on his face and at least a dozen men behind him. The gang leader must have flung himself down the steps and out of range of his dragons. Hanzo tried to process what he had said through his shock.

“All it does is shut down a body, bit by bit. When a body forgets to breathe, or a heart forgets to beat… well, they don't usually last long, then.”

Jesse shuddered in his arms, straining for breath. Hanzo clutched him tighter, unable to do anything for him.

“What are your demands?” Hanzo’s voice was harsh. “You must have an antidote. I have what you demanded; we can make a deal.”

“You're right. I have the antidote.” Murray pulled a small vial from his pocket and casually flipped it in the air, nearly making Hanzo’s heart stop. Murray caught the vial, inspected it, and put it back in his pocket. A dark look came to his eyes as his face hardened. “But there's no deal to be made. He's got what he deserves.”

“Hanzo-” Jesse wheezed out a whisper with massive effort. “Get- outta here-”

Jesse slowly went limp in his arms, and Hanzo looked down to see he was completely motionless, his eyes wide and streaming tears. Hanzo realized that the cowboy was paralyzed, unable to even blink, and his breathing was faint and shallow. 

“Then you leave me with no choice but to take it from you.” Hanzo spoke to Murray, ignoring Jesse’s plea and managing to control his expression even as his anger boiled over in his chest. He gently pressed Jesse’s eyes closed, trying to keep the tremble out of his hands. 

“I have the upper hand here, Shimada.” Murray sneered. “You don't scare me-”

“When I say duck, duck.” Sombra said in Hanzo’s ear suddenly. He had nearly forgotten about the communicator. He heard a faint whine of engines in the distance.

“No.” Hanzo said, instantly realizing what Sombra intended to do.

“What do you mean, no? I-” Murray started, thinking he was talking to him, confused but furious.

“Too late, I'm committed.” Sombra said. “Duck!”

Hanzo threw himself over Jesse with a curse, and he felt wind tear at his hair and clothes as his hoverbike rocketed over them at top speeds.

The decrepit shack exploded when the bike hit it, boards and glass flying. Pain lanced up his side but Hanzo stubbornly remained where he was, protecting Jesse as well as he could. He tried not to think about what happened to anyone standing in the bike’s way.

Once everything went quiet, Hanzo cautiously lifted his head to survey the damage. The shack was in pieces; one wall remained mostly upright but the rest had collapsed or was scattered. Hanzo could see the tail of his bike, but the rest was buried under the collapsed roof. A few of the Deadlock gang were lying amidst the wreckage, some moving and groaning while others were still. 

Hanzo looked down at Jesse, who still lay motionless on the ground, eyes closed and face lax. Hanzo touched his face, pressed fingers to his pulse, leaned closer, searching for any movement. 

“He isn't breathing.” Hanzo numbly heard himself say. “Jesse-”

“Overwatch is still 15 minutes out.” Sombra started the countdown. “Can you do CPR?”

Hanzo started chest compressions and rescue breathing, going through the motions automatically even as he shook. Panic and despair clawed at him, but he forced himself to hold it at bay. Falling apart now would not help McCree.

Reaper materialized nearby and dropped to a knee beside him.

“Where were you?!” Hanzo managed to spit out while reigning his fury in. “Never mind, Murray had an antidote!”

“Where is Murray?” To his credit, Reaper didn't waste any time asking questions. 

Hanzo gestured to the shack with his chin as he continued compressions. Reaper rose with a growl and began wading through the wreckage, taking on his wraith form to get into tight places as he searched. Hanzo couldn't help but envision a vial smashed in the crash, but a lifetime later Reaper emerged, vial in hand.

Reaper used a device to scan the vial before activating his com again.

“Sombra.”

“I need at least a few seconds.” Sombra sounded annoyed. “Okay, he needs to ingest it.”

Hanzo could feel his retort bubbling up, but Sombra continued before it made it out.

“Obviously he isn't going to be able to swallow it, and pouring it down his throat might just put it in his lungs.” Sombra sounded thoughtful. “Any ideas, boss?”

“I've got it.” Reaper opened the vial and poured its contents into the palm of his gloved hand before Hanzo could stop him.

“What are you-?!” Hanzo started, panicked, but Reaper ignored his protest.

“Sit him up, tilt his head back.” Reaper ordered.

“He can't breathe, I can't stop-” Hanzo's entire body was aching and trembling from the effort of doing CPR for such an extended period of time, but he couldn't give up now.

“If you don't do what I say, he’ll be too far gone even by the time Overwatch gets here.” Reaper’s brutal words may as well have punched Hanzo in the face. “Sit him up.”

Hanzo reluctantly stopped the chest compressions, but gave Jesse one more rescue breath before pulling him up against his chest, making sure his head was tilted back a bit.

Reaper’s hand and arm dissolved into smoke and poured into Jesse’s mouth and nose, taking the antidote with it. It only took a few seconds before he withdrew again, and they both watched Jesse’s limp and bloodied form intently.

Hanzo was about to lay him down to start CPR again when he felt it; a slight seizing of muscles before Jesse stiffened in his arms, back arching.

“Breathe, Jesse.” Hanzo urged, alarmed. As if on command, Jesse sucked in a huge breath. He weakly bucked in Hanzo’s arms, spasms running down his limbs. A strangled cry tore from him, his brow furrowing before he blinked watering eyes open.

The transport roared up and the team leapt off with a combination of relieved cries and weapons being readied as they were aimed at Reaper.

Mercy was the only one who raced directly to Jesse and Hanzo, her Caduceus staff already streaming light. McCree shuddered as the light touched him before suddenly going limp as he passed out. Everyone else was watching Reaper and Soldier:76, casting uncertain looks between the two and towards McCree.

“He helped us.” Hanzo told Soldier:76 hoarsely. “You said we could trust him on this. He came through.”

Neither Morrison or Reaper replied or even looked at him, but Morrison eventually shouldered his large pulse rifle.

“Some things never change, do they?” Soldier:76 sounded weary. “Look, Reyes, we-”

“I said not to call me that.” Reaper abruptly turned to stalk away.

“Reaper.” Hanzo called before he knew what he was doing. The wraith stopped, but only turned his profile to indicate he was listening. Hanzo looked down at Jesse, unconscious in his arms but alive and breathing while the Caduceus system wiped away his injuries. Hanzo looked back up at Reaper, who was still waiting. “I repay my debts.”

Reaper was still for a moment before nodding once, and then he was gone.

“You should not have told him that.” Mercy said reproachfully, even as uncertainty flickered on her face. “Who knows what he'll ask of you?”

Hanzo smoothed Jesse’s sweaty and blood-crusted hair away from his forehead.

“I'll deal with it when the time comes.” He finally responded.

“We’ll deal with it.” Pharah said fiercely, dropping to a knee beside them. “Together. You are not alone.”

Hanzo looked up at the anxiously hovering team, and thought of those who had remained behind but would likely be fretting until they had heard the news. McCree often described them as his family, and Hanzo realized with a sudden clarity that they had become his as well.

“Together.” He agreed.

***


End file.
